Friday, February 25, 2011

GLENDALE, Ariz. -- The Los Angeles Dodgers will begin the season without right-hander Vicente Padilla, but club officials are hopeful after Padilla underwent surgery on Thursday to free a nerve that was trapped by a muscle in his right forearm that he could begin playing catch before the end of spring training.

The surgery was performed in Los Angeles by team physician Dr. Neal ElAttrache and Dr. Steve Shin, who conveyed the results to Dodgers trainer Stan Conte at Camelback Ranch.

"Stan said it went well," Dodgers manager Don Mattingly said. "[Padilla] is supposed to be back in Arizona sometime [on Friday], and he'll start the rehab process. What I got was that his best outlook is three or four weeks, then he'll start tossing."

Assuming "tossing" doesn't refer to a salad, or regurgitation, this is welcome news for the Dodgers!